Palestinian law is the law administered by the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

within the territory pursuant to the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

. It has an unusually unsettled status, as of 2021, due to the complex

legal history Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and histo ...

of the area. Palestinian law includes many of the legal regimes and precepts used in Palestinian ruled territory and administered by the Palestinian Authority (West Bank areas A and B) and Hamas (Gaza Strip), which is not an independent nation-state. The scope of this article is to explain the legal history, context and development of law, the current fields of study of law in Palestinian ruled territory, as well as the state of lawlessness in those territories. It is also to discuss the domestic and international positions on which set of laws are controlling in

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

ruled territory today.

Terminology

Due to the changing usages of the terms "Palestine" and "Palestinian" throughout history, the term may also be associated with regimes that are not associated with the Palestinian law of today. Examples include the discussion (in a reference work dating from 1906) of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

ic interpretation of laws from Palestine before 70 AD, also known as

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

: "Those of the laws of Palestine that were extended after

the Exile ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

were originally enacted for the purpose of protecting the judicial administration and economic interests of Palestine, and with a view to encourage settlement there." Such references to ancient Palestinian law do not apply to the Palestinian legal situation since at least 1948.

Jurisdictional background

Essentially, says one

legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, "the legal system in 'Palestine' consists of layer upon layer of law that almost all remain in effect."Wadi Fouad Muhaisen, ''The Palestinian Legal System'' (essay, 2003), found at
The Palestinian Legal System at Yap.com website
. Accessed July 31, 2008 The major issue is the: The laws that applied come from many jurisdictions through history: "Customary Law ... Ottoman Law ... British Law ... Jordanian Law ... Egyptian Law ... Israeli" law and even the informal strictures of the

intifada An intifada ( ar, انتفاضة ') is a rebellion or uprising, or a resistance movement. It is a key concept in contemporary Arabic usage referring to a legitimate uprising against oppression.Ute Meinel ''Die Intifada im Ölscheichtum Bahrain: ...

, and finally, the

's Basic law. The subject of

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

is both controversial and unsettled; "neither the PLO nor the PA is recognized as a sovereign state by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

., citing ''Waldman v. PLO'', 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16089 (2d Cir. Aug. 31, 2016) and '' Daimler AG v. Bauman'', 134 S.Ct. 746 (2014).

Basic Law

The '' Basic law'', established in 2002, is the proposed

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of a future Palestinian state.Mideastweb website
According to one report, "Palestinians had been requesting that the law be signed into effect since 1997, in order to formally guarantee a modicum of basic rights." It was enacted by the PLC (the Legislature of PNA) and signed by

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

. It was amended on March 19, 2003 "to allow the creation of the Prime Minister Position in the Palestinian National Authority...."Amended Basic Law, found a
USAID government law website English translation
. Accessed July 24, 2008. The Basic Law is based loosely on

Shari'a Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

: The Basic Law is introduced with "In The Name of God, The Merciful, The Compassionate," as are most documents in

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic countries.

Articles of the Basic Law

With 121 articles, it is more akin to a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in comprehensiveness, detail and length. The "

bill of rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...

" Articles of the Basic Law, as amended March 19, 2003, cover the following topics: # "Palestine is part of the large Arab World ...." # "The People is the source of power" and the 3 branches of government enshrines "the principle of

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

" # States that "Jerusalem is the Capital of Palestine." # Islamic law is the basis, and Arabic is the official language, of Palestine # Creates "a democratic parliamentary system based on political and party pluralism" and a popularly elected President # Recognizes the "principle of the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

" # Regulates citizenship # Defines the official flag # Protects against "discrimination because of race, sex, color, religion, political views, or disability" # Protection of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

# Protection of

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

and

procedural due process Procedural due process is a legal doctrine in the United States that requires government officials to follow fair procedures before depriving a person of life, liberty, or property. When the government seeks to deprive a person of one of those in ...

# Rights to "be informed of the reasons for his arrest or detention", to contact an attorney, and a speedy trial (see

Miranda rights In the United States, the ''Miranda'' warning is a type of notification customarily given by police to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) advising them of their right to silence and, in effect, protection fr ...

) # No duress, torture or forced confessions # Rights to be "innocent until proven guilty", to a defense, and to a lawyer for defense # Crime and punishment defined by law # Right to bodily integrity # Prohibition of searches except by lawful order # Freedom of private religious practice ("Freedom of belief, worship, and performance of religious rituals are guaranteed, provided that they do not violate public order or public morals.") # Freedom of expression # Freedom of movement # Creation of a

free market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ar ...

and prohibition against taking without fair compensation # Insurance for health, disability, retirement, "welfare of families of martyrs’", and

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

# Right to housing # Right to an education

Statutes and legislation

There is some confusion amongst

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

s, scholars and laymen about exactly what legal regime exists, and which laws apply, in Palestinian ruled territory.

Mahdi Abdul Hadi Mahdi Abdul Hadi (born 22 March 1944) is a political scientist, historian, columnist, author, founder and member of various Palestinian, Arab and International institutions. He founded and heads the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of In ...

, a legal scholar, believes that all prior and current law continues to apply in the Palestinian territories, including "the British Mandate laws, the Jordanian laws that used to govern the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

before 1967 and the Egyptian law that governed

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

before 1967, in addition to the

Israeli military orders An Israeli military order is a general order issued by an Israeli military commander over territory under Israeli military occupation. It has the force of law. Enforcement of such orders is carried out by Israeli military police and military courts ...

."Seminar summary notes, ''The Party Law in Palestine'' (Summary of the Seminar organized by PASSIA at Best Eastern Hotel in Ramallah on Political Parties Law and the upcoming PLC elections), found a
Passia.org website
. Accessed July 29, 2008. According to Abdul Hadi, the first step was the organization of "Palestinian civil society", that is, a traditional law, "then came the

Madrid Conference The Madrid Conference of 1991 was a peace conference, held from 30 October to 1 November 1991 in Madrid, hosted by Spain and co-sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was an attempt by the international community to revive the ...

and the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

which drafted laws to govern the Palestinian political life for the interim period." Following that, "the general elections in 1996 ... brought about the

Palestinian Legislative Council The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the unicameral legislature of the Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It currently comprises 132 members, e ...

as the legislative body of the Palestinian people in the Palestinian lands."

Ottoman law The Ottoman Empire was governed by different sets of laws during its existence. The '' Qanun'', sultanic law, co-existed with religious law (mainly the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence). Legal administration in the Ottoman Empire was part ...

has governed Palestine since 1517, and the

Ottoman Land Code of 1858 The Ottoman Land Code of 1858 (recorded as 1274 in the Islamic calendar) was the beginning of a systematic land reform programme during the Tanzimat (reform) period of the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 19th century. This was followed b ...

is still in force, one of the causes of international controversy over land seizures. The Ottoman statutory "codification mirrored Islamic law but also incorporated elements of European law, especially the

law of France The Law of France refers to the legal system in the French Republic, which is a civil law legal system primarily based on legal codes and statutes, with case law also playing an important role. The most influential of the French legal codes is t ...

Judicial and customary law

Islamic customary law applies in Palestinian ruled territory: The term urf, meaning "to know", refers to the customs and practices of a given society. Although this was not formally included in Islamic law,"Urf", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' the

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

recognizes customs that prevailed at the time of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

but were not abrogated by the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

or the tradition (this is called "Divine silence"). Practices later innovated are also justified, since Islamic tradition says what the people, in general, consider good is also considered as such by

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. Urf is the Islamic equivalent of "

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

".Hasan (2004), p. 169-71 In the application of urf, custom that is accepted into law should be commonly prevalent in the region, not merely in an isolated locality;

s also tend, with caution, to give precedence to custom over doctoral opinions of highly esteemed scholars.

Criminal law

For the most part, crimes and violent acts are considered crimes of violence and fall under the purview of the

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

system. The Palestinian Authority operates under its own criminal law, such as its Penal Code. In addition, "the Palestinian Authority also imposes the death penalty pursuant to the PLO Revolutionary Penal Code, of 1979." The PNA utilizes both military and special, state security courts for most death penalty cases.Death Penalty in the PA
B'Tselem

Civil law

Civil law used the customary law in Palestine: "''Urf'' covered disputes such as contracts, family disputes, personal injury, and land matters."

Participatory justice

Through the use of ''urf'', Palestinians use

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

, specifically forms of participatory justice: "This system stressed conciliation, mediation, and family honour."

Palestinian Land Law

The Palestinian Land Law is a law that prohibits Palestinians from selling land to citizens of Israel. The punishment for violators is the death penalty.

References

External links

* Boyle, Francis A., ''The Fruits of Faith: Palestine, Palestinians & International Law'', (Clarity Press, Atlanta 2003) se
Bookmasters web site

{{Asia topic, Law of, PL=Palestinian law Palestinian politics Civil law (common law) Sharia